India has defied the odds against US tariffs and emerged as the largest exporter, with $38.1 billion in November, resulting in a five-month low trade deficit. This has increased overall by 19.4%, driven by growth in China and the US, where the main shipments were of electronics and engineering goods.
The trade deficit has reached $24.6 billion, its lowest since June, as imports sink by 2% to $62.7 billion. The decrease in imports is due to lower shipments of gold, crude oil, coal, and coke during the period under consideration. The commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal said, “Despite the tariffs, we have been able to hold our exports and imports are also growing (38% to $5.3 billion), which is a good thing for India-US trade”.
The export of November is the highest figure since May ($38.73 billion), with shipments marking the most substantial monthly growth since June 2022, spanning three and a half years. Gold imports declined by 59.15 per cent to $4 billion, while crude oil imports fell by 11.27 per cent to $14.11 billion this month. Lower imports drove a smaller trade deficit in November, bringing it to its lowest level since June at $18.78 billion. Whereas October has recorded a trade deficit of $41.68 billion.
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Export of the April-November period grew from 2.62 per cent to $292.07 billion. US exports are estimated at $7 billion, up 22.6% despite the imposition of 50% additional tariffs; shipments to China increased by 90% to $2.2 billion.
